If you don’t have those three things, then don’t read this or you’ll just feel awful about your life. Seriously. Stop now and go read something about unicorns and rainbows.

Okay, now that I’m talking to the select few folks who meet 1 – 3, above, how does this sound?: You could get your new Brammo Enertia Plus for…

Hey! You! Yoney… get the heck out of here. You live in Florida or some other hellhole. You, too, Adamo. You’re facing six months of cold, hard Illinois winter. This will send you over the edge of despair.

You ready? How does $1605 sound? Pretty sweet, eh? Here’s how we get there:

$8995 – retail cost of Enertia Plus

-899 – Federal tax credit

-3991 – Colorado tax credit, you lucky dawgs

– 2500 – Brammo loyalty rebate.

____________

1,605 – out-of-pocket.

Of course, you could, at that point in time, sell that aging Brammo Enertia (please use the Brammo Owner Forum’s Used Enertias for Sale board) for probably MUCH more than $1605 (hello, Legacy Value), and end up with a Brammo Enertia Plus in the garage, and a wallet (or purse) full of cash.

Disclaimer – I’m not a tax expert. I’m not even mildly proficient. My wife does our taxes. Don’t rely on my posts when you make buying decisions. I might be an attorney but I’m not your attorney. Most attorneys have no special knowledge about taxes and a majority of them do not practice proper oral hygiene. I, definitely don’t have special knowledge about taxes. I became an attorney because I couldn’t stand the sight of blood and numbers were confusing to me. Do your own research. Finally, it’s flu season: cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze, you barbarian.

I’ve never been to Hawaii, but I imagine it’s a perfect place for an EV like the Brammo Enertia. It’s pretty small. The weather’s great. And they have some great roads for riding on. It’s also the next stop on the SIWIBABE list (States in which I’d buy a Brammo Enertia).

This month, Hawaii is scheduled to begin providing “rebates for Hawaii residents, businesses, State and County agencies, and nonprofit entities for the initial purchase of new, commercially available electric vehicles for use in Hawaii and for the purchase and installation of commercially available charging equipment in Hawaii.” See this page.

Oops. Almost forgot the standard Brammofan Tax Advisor Disclaimer:

Disclaimer: Don’t get your tax or other financial advice from anyone whose online name ends in -fan. This means: do your own homework on this purchase. I’m just trying to get you to think.

The amount of the tax rebate (hey! it’s a rebate, not a credit, so you’re getting a check, Dan-o) is “up to 20% of the vehicle purchase price, up to a maximum of $4500 per vehicle.” I’m not sure why they put that first “up to” there… I see no other limiting information, but the official applications may include some fine print to mull over.

Let’s go to the numbers:

$7995 – retail price of the Brammo Enertia

-799 – Federal Tax Credit

-1599 – Hawaii Tax Rebate

——–

$5597

Not too shabby, Big Kahuna. On the SIWIBABE list, that puts the Aloha State in between Illinois and Georgia:

Of course, there’s also the problem of getting a Brammo Enertia to the Big Island. I am somewhat doubtful that Brammo’s $500 delivery fee for residents of states other than California and Oregon would apply, but it you’re one of the thousands of readers of Brammofan in Hawaii, and you’re ready to give it a shot, put down that pina colada and get busy: http://www.brammo.com. Or, if you want to wait for the Empulse, at least get your preorder in. The Empulse 10.0 would be:

13995

-1399 Fed cred

-2799 Hawaii rebate

—-

$9797

This information should be showing up soon over on empulsebuyer.com, as well, complete with his Total Cost of Ownership calculator.

Maryland just passed a law that could potentially save a Brammo Enertia buyer some bucks. The amount of the incentive would equal 100 percent of the amount of the excise tax Maryland charges on vehicle purchases. This excise tax is 6% of the cost of the vehicle, or, in the case of a purchase of a Brammo Enertia at $7995, that’s $480. You would also get the $800 federal tax credit.

Should this be treated as equal to some of the other credits and rebates I’ve written about in my SIWIBABE* list?:

In an earlier post, I determined that Oklahoma provides the best tax incentives on a purchase of a Brammo Enertia. Theoretically, you could buy one in Oklahoma for the final, out-of-pocket price of $ 4,059.

I was looking forward to finding out what an Enertia would cost me in my home state of Missouri. Now, I’m sorry I looked any direction at all.

Any tax credits? Not unless I’m installing an Alternative Fuel Vehicle Fueling station. Hmm, could I use this to pay for a new extension cord for “fueling” my Enertia? Nope. Electric stations are not included among the eligible types.

Any other incentives? Only for biodiesel and ethanol production and/or use.

Any rebates? Nada.

Wait . . . what’s this: Alternative Fuel Vehicle (AFV) Emission Inspection Exemption. Oh, how thoughtful. Missouri has exempted “[v]ehicles that are powered exclusively by electric or hydrogen power” from undergoing an emissions inspection. Woo hoo that would save me $24, except that buyers registering new vehicles don’t have to get an emissions test until the time they renew the registration.

The $0.17 per gallon motor fuel tax does not apply to passenger vehicles, certain buses, or commercial vehicles that are powered by an alternative fuel. The owners or operators of such vehicles are required to pay an annual alternative fuel decal fee as follows (certain restrictions apply):

Gross Vehicle Weight

Type of Vehicle

Decal Fee

18,000 pounds (lbs.) or less

Passenger, School Bus, or Commercial

$75

Let me get this straight: I have no objection to paying a fee or tax for the privilege of driving on the roads of this fine state of Missouri. But to charge a flat fee, regardless of the type of vehicle or the amount of miles traveled, makes no sense at all. Does a 324 lb. Enertia do the same amount of damage to a road as an 18,000 lb. truck? For that matter, does a 16,500lb. Smith Newton (Electric Delivery Van) that drives its maximum range every day (100 miles) cause as much wear and tear as a Brammo, driven to work and back on dry, temperate days?

By its very terms, the $75 sticker is an alternative to the $0.17 per gallon fuel tax. $75 divided by .17 is 441. Okay, so that means they are charging me for the equivalent use of 441 gallons of gas in a year. A Kawasaki Ninja 250R gets about 60 miles per gallon. 60 x 441 = 26, 460 miles a year. Even a hardcore rider in Missouri can only eke out about 10 months of riding a year. That means they must expect me to ride about 2,600 miles a month. That’s a LOT. Even if I rode an Enertia every day, to and from my workplace (roundtrip 20 miles x 23 workdays a month = 460 miles x 10 months = 4600 miles a year), plus let’s add 40 miles each weekend (40 x 43 rideable weekends = 1720 miles), that’s about 6,300 miles. Not even close to the amount they would be charging me.

Plus, unlike the pay-as-you-go fuel tax, I have to pay this fee in a lump sum, before I am afforded the privilege of driving. Grrr.

Is this bureaucratic absurdity enough of a disincentive to affect a decision by a wanna-be Brammo buyer?

Of course not, but it still chaps my hide. I wonder how ugly this sticker is.

Someday, a Georgia resident will be able to walk into their local Best Buy store and purchase a Brammo Enertia. In preparation for that day, I have written this, the sixth post in the series (of unknown length) known as SIWIBABE (States In Which I’d Buy a Brammo Enertia).

I’d like to dedicate this post to Margaret Mitchell, the author of “Gone With The Wind.”

Scarlett: Rhett! We’re out of gas! The Union soldiers are approaching. Whatever will I do?

Rhett: Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn what you do. I know what I’m going to do. I’m going to walk over to the Best Buy, Midtown Atlanta (1210 Caroline St NE) and buy a Brammo Enertia for the already low retail price of $7995.

Scarlett: But Rhett… we don’t have that kind of money. I had to make this dress out of the curtains in the foyer.

Rhett: Scarlett, you should know that there are some significant tax incentives that apply to the purchase of this fine mechanical steed. For example, after the Union victory, the government will let us apply a 10 percent income tax credit on our purchase. That’s $799 off of $7995 right there, bringing the price down to $7196.

Scarlett: But Rhett. That’s still too much. I’ll have to sell Prissy to the obstetrician/gynecologist in town.

Rhett: Scarlett, we’re fortunate to be living in a state with a Zero Emission Vehicle Tax Credit (See Georgia Code, 48-7-40.16) It allows me to take a 20% income tax credit on the cost of my Brammo. That’s $1599. With the Federal Tax Credit, that brings the cost of the Enertia in Georgia down to $5696. Why, that’s even lower than California’s out-of-pocket cost because, in Georgia, you don’t have to buy the extra year of the two year warranty.

Scarlett: $5696?

Rhett: That’s what I said. $5696.

Scarlett: Let me get my purse. As God is my witness, I’ll never go to the gas station again!

We’ve looked at Colorado, California, Oklahoma, and Illinois. Now comes word from user “thespecialone” on the Brammo Owners Forum that he filed his application for a state tax credit in Oregon, and, two weeks later, received notice from the state that he would be getting his $1069 Enertia Tax Credit. Coupled with the Federal tax credit for 10% of the Brammo’s retail price of $7995, the numbers look like this:

Colorado has just approved the Brammo Enertia as eligible for the state’s Alternative Fuel Tax Credit. Although it doesn’t show up yet on their online document as an approved vehicle, the State said in a recent email:

Thank you for all the information on your electric motorcycle. It appears to qualify for the Colorado Alternative fuel tax credit. I show the incremental price difference to be $3,495.00 your vehicle would qualify under category 1 so would be entitled to an 85% credit. $3,495x.85= $2,971.00 minus any federal tax credit available.

What does this mean in English (and with real numbers)?

It means that if you buy a Brammo Enertia in Colorado, you will initially hand over the retail price of the bike plus any sales tax (I think Colorado’s State Sales Tax is 2.9%, but I’m going to leave all the taxes out of these articles because different cities and counties have their own sales taxes, and, frankly, I’ve got better things to do than to chase down local tax rates. Better things, like…um… Hey… do your own homework.) Speaking of homework . . .

Disclaimer: Don’t get your tax or other financial advice from anyone whose online name ends in -fan. This means: do your own homework on this purchase. I’m just trying to get you to think.

Colorado by the numbers:

$7995 – Retail price of Brammo Enertia

-$799 – Federal Tax Credit

-$2971 – Colorado Tax Credit

____________________

$4225

Okay, so that’s not quite as good as the $2700 figure I came up with the first time I wrote about this issue, but that’s what you get for trusting the advice of a man who chose his profession because he couldn’t stand the sight of blood and because he didn’t “do” numbers.

Still, $4225 is nothing to sneeze at.

In the current tally of SIWIBABE (States in which I’d buy a Brammo Enertia) here’s the rundown:

On some of these, I added things like a “delivery charge” and some fees here and there, but this is just for comparison purposes, anyway. I’ve never considered moving to Oklahoma before, but given that my home state of Missouri offers exactly zilch in the area of alternative vehicle incentives, it might be worth at least making a friend with a Sooner.